Attaching means for cables



T. S. MILLER.

ATTACHING MEANS FOR GABLES.

L L L WITNESS:

T. S. MILLER.

ATTACHING MEANS FOR CABLES.

Maw... H.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

ATTACEING MEANS FOR CABLES.

Application filed July 23,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS SPENCER MIL- LER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attaching Means for Cables, of which the following is a specification.

In operations such as hoisting, towing, etc.

a drum is used on which a. cab-1e is wound and to which the end of the cable is attached. With attachments between the cable and drum such as have hitherto been used, as, for example, where the end of the cable is bolted to the drum, attachment of the cable to and detachment from the drum is made with difficulty, and this is a serious objection where frequent attachment and detachment is desirable, as is the case on shipboard where it is desirable that all the hoisting cables be removed from the drums and stowed below deck where they are protected from the salt air and salt water during the voyage. In accordance with my invention, provision is made for quickly attaching the cable to and detaching it from the drum.

Furthermore, with attachments hitherto used, the cable has been so securely fastened to the drum, that when the cable is entirely unwound from the drum, as sometimes occurs during operations such as towing, the cable is subjected to a breaking strain, with the result that the break is likely to occur at an intermediate point of the cable, and thus destroy the utility of the same. In accordance with my invention, the end of the cable is automatically detached from the drum when the same is unwound therefrom, and subj ected to a tension less than that of the working load of the cable, so that while the end of the cable is, under ordinary operating conditions, secured to the drum, it is released under the indicated conditions with out injury to the cable, or. at most, injury only to the end of the cable where the injury may be repaired without destroying the usefulness of the cable.

Other objects of my invention will appear in the specification, and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in

' which like reference characters indicate like parts, and in which Figure 1 is a fragmeninvention.

1920. Serial No. 398,502.

attached to a drum in accordance with my Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. illustrating a modified form of my inven- Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan view, partially in section, of another modified form.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of still another modified form of my invention.

Fig. 8 is avertical section taken through Fi 7, and

- ig. 9 is a vertical sectional elevation taken at right-angles to Fig. 8. 7

Referring now to the drawings by characters of reference, 10 designates a metallic cable or rope of wellknown'form or construction, for example, made up of a plurality of metallic wires, filaments or strands twisted together. This cable 10, is provided with an attaching device formed integral therewith and constituted by the wires orstrands of which the cable is composed being Welded together to form a substantially integral device or part 11 at the end of the cable. The integral attaching device, which may take a number of forms, as shown in the drawings, is preferably made by heating the endproper degree of heat, and then hammering the strands together, as stated, or said end portion may be welded by any welding process or apparatus suitable to the purpose. The end portion of the cable is preferably made as nearly solid as possible as for such a length the necessities of attachment may demand, say for example, a distance of six inches to a foot, or even more, in larger size cables.

According to my invention, the attaching device may take a number of forms, and in the embodiments herein shown, the same is provided by bending or otherwise shaping the welded end 11 of the cable, for example, in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the attaching device is in hook-form, the welded portion being bent as at 12, and the extreme end portion again directed as at 12, in the same direction to form the in which groove the cable lies when wound on the drum. The usual flange of the drum isshown at 16. it being understood that each end of the drum may be provided with such a flange, and that it is not necessary to illustrate the same. In attaching the end of the cable to the drum. the body of the cable adjacent to the end is turned horizontally at right-angles to the position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, when the hooked end'of the cable may readily be passed through the opening 13-, and then when the cable is swung into the position illustrated where it lies in the groove of the barrel 14:, the hooked end of the cable engages the wall 13 surrounding the opening 13 adjacent the seat of the cable. It will, of course, be understood that to detach the cable it is only necessary to reverse the operation. The solid end on the cable ofiers, when bent, a greater resistance to the movement of the cable. Furthermore. it prevents an unwinding tendency of the strands. The opening 13, as shown. is of such width that the cable cannot become detached by movement lengthwise thereof, when in normal position on the drum, but must be swung at an angle to such normal position in order to be disengaged from the drum.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the opening 13 is oblong, but the major axis of the opening is in the direction of the groove in which the cable is wound. The attaching device constituted by the solid end 11 of the cable in this case is provided by directing said end laterally as'at 1-1, and again directing or bending it in a reverse direction at 12, so that when the cable is in position in the groove of the drum barrel, as illustrated, the extreme end 11 of the attaching device on the cable engages the underside of the cylindri-, cal part of the drum on the opposite side of the opening, whereby the cable end is held in osition.

11 Figs. 5 and 6, an opening 13 is provided in the flange 16 of the drum at the side of the groove 15, and in this case the opening is preferably directed so as to form an obtuse angle with the groove inthe drum barrel in which the cable lies, and the solid end 11 of the cable has a single bend at 12 extending through the opening 13", the end of the cable being held in position by a cotter pin 17 preferably extending through the I1d 0f the cable on the outer side of the drum flange 16.

lln Figs. 7, 8 and 9, I have illustrated a form of my invention in which the drum is provided with an opening in the cylindrical part of the drum, and in which the end of the cable may be attached and de tached by slightly lifting the adjacent portion of the cable and moving it longitudinally. The cylindrical art of the drum is provided with an openlng 13 preferably having a curved seat, as at 13, adjacent the roove in which the cable is to lie, and having a bevelled wall, as at 13, on the opposite side of the opening. The solid end of the cable is bent, as at 12 to engage the curved seat 13, and the extreme end or bill of the cable is reversely bent, as at 12*, and is held in position by a bolt or pin 18, which is received in a lug 19 and in an opening 20 formed in the flange 16 against which bolt or p'inthe reversely directed part of the attaching device engages. In order to detach the cable from the drum, the end of the cable is slightly lifted to free the end 12 from the pin 18, and then by moving the cable backwards towards the face 13 the bent end of the cable rides up over the bevelled wall 13, and may be lifted out of the opening 13.

It will be obvious that in accordance with my invention, an attachment is provided by which the cable may readily be attached to and detached from the drum. At the same time, the attachment is such that the end of the cable will tend to straighten and release the end of the cable from the drum when it is subjected to a fraction, say twenty or twenty-five per cent of the load, which the cable is capable of carrying, and thus prevents breakage of the cable at an intermediate point, and in case the end is either straightened or broken, it will be apparent that the same may readily be repaired without destroying the usefulness of the entire cable. A further advantage is that the attaching device does not result in undesirable projections, or bumps on the drum which would in any way interfere with a proper and smooth winding of the cable on the drum, or prevent the cable taking a proper special form on the drum.

What I claim and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is':-

1. A cable comprising metallic strands and having an attaching device integral therewith, said attaching device being constituted by strands of the cable welded together toform a substantially solid body.

2. A cable comprising metallic strands and having an attaching device integral therewith, said attaching device being constituted by strands of the cable welded toget-her to form a substantially solid body directed at an angle to the length of the cable.

3. A cable comprising metallic strands and having an attaching hook integral therewith, said hook being constituted by strands of the cable welded together.

4:. In combination, a drum provided with an opening, and a cable comprising metallic strands and provided with an integral solid end constituted by strands of said cable welded together, said solid end being directed at an angle to'the length of the cable and extending through said opening whereby the cable is attached to the drum.

5. In combination, a drum, and a cable to be wound thereon, said cable comprising metallic strands and having an integral bent solid end constituted by strands of the cable welded together, the drum being provided with an opening throughwhich the bent end of the cable is arranged toextend, the bent end of the cable engaging the wall of said opening whereby the cable is attached to the drum.

6. In combination, a drum, and a cable to be wound thereon having an integral bent solid end constituted by strands of the cable welded together, the drum being provided with an opening through which the said bent end of'the cable extends and is disposed at an angle to the length of the cable.

7. In combination, a drum, and a cable comprising metallic strands and adapted to be wound on said drum, said cable having an integral bent end constituted by strands of said cable welded together, the drum being provided with an opening through which the said bent end of the cable is arranged to extend, the bent end of the cable being so formed with reference to said opening as to resist movement of the cable in the unwindingdirection, but which permits ready removal of the cable from the drum when the portion of the cable near the end is vided with an opening and the end of the cable being provided with a hooked end extending through said opening and engaging the wall of said opening to secure the cable to the drum, said hooked end being constituted by strands of said cable Welded together.

9. In combination, a drum, and a stranded cable provided with an integral solid end to be wound thereon, the drum being provided with an opening, and the solid end of the cable being provided with a hooked end extending through said opening and engaging the wall of said opening to secure the cable to the drum.

10. In combination, a drum, and a cable to be wound thereon and provided with an integral hooked end constituted bystrands of said cable welded together, the drum being provided with an opening elongated transversely of the drum barrel and through which opening the hooked end of the cable extends.

11. In combination, a cablehaving an integral solid end formed with a hook constituted by strands of said cable welded together and a drum on which the cable is adapted to be wound, the barrel of the drum being provided with an opening through which the hooked end of the cable extends.

12. In combination, a cable formed with an integral solid bent end constituted by strands of said cable welded together, and a drum formed with agrpove in which the cable is adapted to be Wound, the drum being provided with an oblong opening extending across the said oove and through which the bent end of t e cable extends to secure the cable to thedrum.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER.

Witnesses: V J. S. CARswEnL, ERNEs'r BUTSFORD. 

